


5 times seb and carlos almost got caught, and 1 time they actually did

by Tea_For_One_Please



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Background Relationships, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Post-Canon, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-27
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:21:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23882215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tea_For_One_Please/pseuds/Tea_For_One_Please
Summary: Exactly what it says in the title. At the start of their relationship, Seb and Carlos decide to keep it a secret - but it turns out neither of them is particularly good at it.
Relationships: Seb Matthew-Smith/Carlos Rodriguez
Comments: 60
Kudos: 137





	1. Under the Piano

“Can you believe it’s been a week since the show closed?” For the first time all week, Carlos and Seb are taking some time out by themselves, and are lying on a sponge gymnastics mat, underneath the piano in the rehearsal room. Carlos immediately realises that he’s actually asking if he can believe that it’s been a week since they officially started dating: Seb asked him to be his boyfriend at the cast party. Carlos turns his head and grins at his new boyfriend. _My boyfriend_ , he thinks excitedly.

“No,” he says, lacing their fingers together and squeezing gently. “Seems like only yesterday.” He smiles – he loves having a boyfriend, but it’s early days, and he’s still a little starstruck, and slightly nervous around Seb. It’s for this reason that they haven’t yet told anyone they’re dating.

Perhaps Seb’s thinking the same thing, because he hesitates and asks, “Do you think we’re doing the right thing? You know, not telling the others?”

“I mean,” Carlos says, letting go of Seb’s hand and rolling onto his front, “as much as I’ve grown to love them, it’s not really their business, you know?”

“Oh, I wasn’t saying we weren’t doing the right thing,” Seb says hastily, reaching up from his position on the mat and clumsily pressing a few keys. “It’s harder backwards,” he muses, before shaking his head minutely. “Anyway, yeah,” he continues, “I just wanted to check you’re still okay with it.” Carlos hums an affirmative, and shuffles a little closer so he can lean over Seb and kiss him.

“Do the Bohemian Rhapsody thing,” he says when he lifts his lips away from Seb’s again, and Seb groans.

“It’s tricky,” he complains, and Carlos grins.

“Dare you.” Seb can’t resist, and rolls his eyes and reaches up to the piano again, closing his eyes with intense concentration as he plays – very slowly – the iconic motif from ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’. He hits the wrong note and winces, shaking his head as he brings his hands back down from the keys.

“Told you,” he says drily, but Carlos leans over him again and kisses him on the forehead.

“Shut up. It was amazing.”

“Well, thanks,” Seb grins, closing his eyes as Carlos peppers him with soft kisses, responding eagerly when Carlos reaches his lips, letting out a contented sigh.

“Besides,” Carlos says, a sly smile creeping onto his face, “isn’t it kind of fun? Sneaking around the others?”

“A little. I mean,” he admits, opening his eyes and propping himself up on his elbows, “it’s not like they don’t suspect anything. At least Ashlyn, Big Red and EJ saw us dancing at homecoming.”

“Eventually,” Carlos says wickedly, and Seb’s jaw drops in mock offence.

“Hey!”

“I’m kidding,” Carlos says, with his signature light, fruity laugh. “I know you couldn’t help it.”

“Anyway,” Seb says, clearly trying to be enigmatic but unable to stop himself from smiling.

“Yes, go on.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure they’re getting suspicious,” Seb continues. “Yesterday when we were hanging out, Nini was like, ‘so what’s going on with you and Carlos?’”

“What did you tell her?”

“I said that nothing was happening,” Seb says guiltily. “Was that wrong?”

“No,” Carlos says, keen to reassure him. “We talked about it, and we agreed that we want to keep it to ourselves for now. Right?”

“Right,” Seb says a little more confidently. “I guess I just felt like by saying ‘nothing’, I was lying to her and, I don’t know, demeaning what… this is,” he adds, pointing between the two of them.

“No, I get it. And honestly,” Carlos adds with a nervous chuckle, “I really don’t want all the drama and attention that came with Nini and Ricky’s relationship during the show.”

“Oh my god, me neither,” Seb exclaims. “Remember that time when Miss Jenn was trying to block ‘What I’ve Been Looking For’?”

“Most painful ten minutes of my life.”

“ _You_ thought it was painful?” Seb sits up, crosses his legs, and looks at Carlos in disbelief. “I was playing this jaunty love song with Nini and EJ standing on either side of me looking like they wanted to kill each other!”

“Yeah, that must have been pretty bad,” Carlos says with a grimace. “So yeah, I think we’re doing the right thing. For the moment, anyway.”

“Oh, yeah, of course.” Seb nods wildly. “We’ll tell them at some point. Just… not yet, right?”

“Just not yet,” Carlos affirms. “Anyway,” he says, sitting up ungracefully, “I have to pee. I’ll be right back.”

“Lovely,” Seb says, deadpan. As he’s getting up, Carlos stumbles against the piano, accidentally slamming his hands on a few of the keys. “Careful!” Seb hisses, as they both become aware of high heels on vinyl flooring. Carlos barely has time to register what’s happening before Seb pulls him back down onto the floor, and they hastily position themselves against the wall behind a few stacks of folding chairs, tucking their knees up to their chins.

“Hello?” says a loud, sharp voice, and they hold their breath. Carlos knows they wouldn’t get in trouble for being in the rehearsal room, but it might be a different story if someone thought they were messing around and being careless with the piano. “Is someone in there?” It’s definitely Miss Jenn, and he thinks he hears her take a few steps into the room. “Funny,” she muses. “I’m sure I heard…” The sentence tails off, and the footsteps fade away.

“That was a bit too close,” Seb says with a soft laugh. “Be more careful next time!”

“Damn hypermobile ankles,” Carlos grumbles, scrambling to his feet and offering Seb a hand to help him up. They’re just gathering their things when the bell chimes, signalling the end of lunch, and they share a commiserating look. “I’ll see you later?”

“Yeah, you’re coming over this evening, right?” Carlos nods, and Seb glances at the empty doorway before leaning in for one final kiss, before parting ways for the afternoon.


	2. Under the Mistletoe

“So, any plans for Christmas?” Nini asks, leaning into Ricky and smiling sleepily over at Seb. It’s Ashlyn’s various-winter-holiday party, and Seb has to admit that it’s fun to have the group back together again. For one reason or another, it’s actually the first time they’ve all hung out since the cast party a couple of weeks ago.

“Not much, just me and my family,” Seb says with a shrug. “What about you guys?”

“Just me and my dad,” Ricky says, looking down sadly, and Nini squeezes his arm. “My mom’s still in Chicago, she’s coming back a couple days after Christmas.”

“I’m sorry,” Seb says, He’s about to say something more supportive, when suddenly he jumps slightly as someone taps him on the shoulder.

“Carlos!” he says with a gasp, as he turns round and sees who it is.

Carlos looks seriously at him and says quietly, “Can I talk to you about something for a moment?” He’s glancing periodically at his phone, and Seb’s immediately concerned.

“Yes, of course,” Seb says, getting to his feet and following Carlos into the next room.

“Shut the door,” Carlos says, biting his lip.

“What’s happened?” Seb asks, and Carlos inexplicably grins.

“We’ve got the room to ourselves,” he says innocently, and without any further hesitation, pushes Seb up against the door and kisses him.

“For god’s sake,” Seb tuts when they break apart. “I thought something was wrong!”

“Something _was_ wrong,” Carlos says, cradling Seb’s jaw in his hands and kissing him again. “It’s been, like, two hours since we last kissed.”

“Seriously?”

“Besides,” Carlos says, glancing above Seb’s head. “Look.” He twists his neck around to see a sprig of mistletoe hanging over the door, and rolls his eyes affectionately.

“You’re absurd,” Seb murmurs before he’s cut off by Carlos’ lips on his own again. He inhales deeply through his nose, enjoying the thrill of making out with his secret boyfriend, with just two inches of wooden door preventing them from being found out. There have been a lot of moments like this over the last couple of weeks, stealing secret moments to be together, out of view of the others. Seb feels Carlos’s hands on his waist and hears him emit a soft sigh, when suddenly the reality of the situation hits him, and he gently pushes Carlos away.

“What’s the matter?”

“We need to go back in, it’ll get suspicious.”

Carlos groans, pressing his forehead against Seb’s. “Don’t want to.”

“Come on,” Seb chuckles fondly.

He pulls the door open, and the room falls silent.

“Is everything okay?” Kourtney asks, looking at them with concern.

“Yeah, it looked like you got some bad news,” Nini says, stirring cream into her hot chocolate.

“Oh no, it’s all good,” Carlos says dismissively. “I just had a text from Miss Jenn.”

If anyone wasn’t already listening, they are now.

“Is it about the spring show?” Gina asks enthusiastically. “Has she chosen a musical?”

“Not exactly,” Carlos says. “But she, uh, had some ideas, and, uh, wanted my opinion.”

“And you were asking Seb?” EJ asks.

“Well, yeah.”

“And not us?” EJ’s expression is a blend of curiosity and offence. Seb’s heart is sinking fast, and he can see that Carlos is doing some very quick thinking.

“It’s not personal,” Carlos says, clearly trying to keep his tone neutral, but Seb is of the opinion that he sounds a little too shrill to be completely convincing. The others are still listening, though. “I just wanted to ask Seb if he already had the piano music for any of her suggestions. That way,” he continues, apparently growing more confident, “Miss Jenn can know what to buy, once she’s chosen.” A few of them nod slowly as they process this, and Seb breathes a surreptitious sigh of relief. Thank goodness his boyfriend’s a good liar.

“So?” Ricky asks urgently, and Carlos looks blankly at him. “What are her choices?”

“Oh,” Carlos says, his face still slightly vacant. “I, uh, probably shouldn’t tell you.”

“But you can tell Seb?” EJ asks, folding his arms.

“Yeah, what’s that about?” Ashlyn chimes in. Seb’s doing his best to maintain his composure, but he can feel his skin getting prickly under his collar.

“Okay, fine,” Carlos says, raising his hands in surrender. “She’s between _Hairspray_ , _Beauty and the Beast_ and _Joseph_.”

Murmurs run around the room, and Seb leans over and whispers, “God, you’re going to be sorry if none of those are right.”

“Oh, they’re right,” he murmurs back. “I really _wasn’t_ supposed to tell you guys.”

“Scandalous,” Seb says, his eyes widening.

“Well, the best lies have elements of truth.”

“Yeah, well, I’m pretty sure Miss Jenn’s going to kill you if she finds out.”

It’s a little after 1am when they finally settle down into sleeping bags. Seb and Carlos automatically end up near each other, but they gradually shift closer and closer together as the others start to drift off to sleep. Eventually Big Red starts to snore, and Ricky thumps him with a pillow to shut him up. Seb and Carlos whisper quietly for a little while, until Carlos’ eyes start to droop shut. Seb leans over and kisses his forehead, running his hands through his boyfriend’s hair until he hears Carlos’ breathing slow down and deepen.

He smiles as he watches Carlos sleep, his closed eyelids flickering, and he wonders what he’s dreaming about. He glances down at Carlos’ hand, lulled at his side, and longs to reach out and hold it. One day, though.

One day they’ll be able to go to sleep at group sleepovers holding hands without thinking twice, or even just zip their sleeping bags together and share it. They’ll be able to kiss up against the lockers like the other couples do. Seb smiles as he imagines finishing a rehearsal for the spring show, and waiting for Carlos to finish packing up his things, and leaving together, hand-in-hand.

 _One day_ , Seb thinks sleepily. Just not quite yet.


	3. Under the Stars

“So what’s your resolution?” Seb asks, slipping a gloved hand into Carlos’, who gives him a withering look.

“It doesn’t have to be January 1st to change something about yourself,” he says, leaning back against the roof tiles and smiling fondly at his boyfriend. Seb shivers, vaguely wondering if Ricky’s idea of watching the country club’s fireworks from the roof was a bad idea. Thank god Ashlyn’s parents are in fact at the country club, or they would never be allowed to hang out here again.

“Maybe not,” Seb says, planting his feet a little more firmly against the terracotta and shifting an inch closer to Carlos. “But I thought you would find plenty to change.” Carlos’ jaw drops open and he gives a barely audible squeak of indignation.

“You are so _rude_!” he exclaims, nudging him with his shoulder, and Seb breaks into giggles. He can’t help it; he’s just so cute. Suddenly the attic skylight opens again, and Ashlyn’s head appears through the gap. Although there’s no way she’d be able to see, Carlos automatically lets go of Seb’s hand.

“Y’all want coffee?”

“It’s way too cold,” Carlos says, puzzled.

“Hot coffee, Carlos,” she replies. She doesn’t add _obviously_ , but her tone makes it clear that she’s thinking it.

“Still no,” he says, wrinkling his nose.

“Thanks though,” Seb pipes up.

“What’s the point in coffee if it’s not iced?” Carlos asks once she’s gone, but Seb’s not really thinking about coffee.

“Do you think it’s about time we told them?” he says thoughtfully.

“I’m _constantly_ telling them that iced coffee is the only – ”

“No, Carlos,” he says patiently. “I mean about us. Maybe that could be our resolution.”

“Oh.” For a one-syllable word, it really seems to fill a silence. “Yeah, maybe.”

“But you don’t want to,” Seb concludes. It’s not a question; he knows the answer already.

“I don’t know,” Carlos says doubtfully. “I just…” He sighs. “You remember when Ashlyn and Big Red announced that they were together? How people were all… I don’t know, all up in their faces about it?”

“You can say that again.” Seb strokes the back of Carlos’ hand with his thumb and chuckles. “ _Constant_ questions – when? How? How long? How _far_?” He grimaces. “No one wants to know that.”

“Exactly,” Carlos nods, looking sadly at him. “I just… as depressing as it sounds, I’m still getting used to people taking notice of me. In a good way, that is.”

“And you think the attention would be too much?” Seb prompts, and Carlos offers him a sad smile.

“Basically, yeah.”

“I get it.”

They sit in silence for a few moments, half-lying against the sloped tiles. Seb glances at Carlos, but he’s staring up into the sky. As potentially insane as it could be to gather more than a dozen teenagers on a roof at once, it’s the perfect night for it. It’s chilly (after all, it’s nearly January) but it’s not freezing, and the patchy clouds don’t completely obscure their view of the stars. Admittedly, though, the light pollution from the city centre makes them appear dimmer, as it thrums with the activity of people gathering to watch the city’s firework display, as pitiful as it is by comparison with the more extravagant country club’s display.

“Pretty, isn’t it?” Carlos muses, as Seb gazes at him and smiles.

“Yeah,” he says quietly. And he means it: in this rare moment of tranquillity, Carlos is beautiful. His soft lips curl upwards in contentment, exposing the dimple on his left cheek, flushed pink with cold. His jet-black hair peeks out of the front of his beanie, making it look particularly fluffy, and Seb can see the city lights reflected in his dark eyes.

“What?” Carlos says, smiling fully.

“Nothing.” Seb’s voice is soft as he leans over to kiss him, pressing his lips gently against Carlos’. “Just in case we can’t when we get to midnight,” he adds when he pulls back, but Carlos cups his hand against his cheek and leans up to meet him halfway again.

Suddenly they hear voices approaching, and Seb swiftly presses one final kiss to Carlos’ cheek as they shuffle a couple of inches apart. Gina appears at the skylight and climbs out, climbing carefully across the tiles and positioning herself next to Carlos.

“Here, take these,” someone says from inside, and Gina leans over to receive two steaming mugs as EJ clambers out and sits alongside her. The others are following suit, some holding cups, and all chatting excitably.

“Hey, Ash?” Nini calls, nestled in the crook of Ricky’s arm. “Are you sure this is safe?”

“It survived being struck by lightning last year,” she says casually.

“Well, that’s comforting,” Kourtney murmurs sarcastically, to general chuckles.

“Two minutes to midnight,” Big Red calls, and a chorus of enthusiastic murmurs echoes across the rooftop.

“Whoa, already?” Seb says.

“How’d you lose track of time so bad?” Gina asks, giving them a funny look. A pregnant silence follows this question, before Seb hastily shrugs.

“We were just talking, I guess.”

“Fair enough.” She sips her coffee and smiles at them. “Any New Year’s resolutions?”

“To be more honest,” Carlos says after a moment’s thought.

“That’s a good one,” Seb says, and they share a secret smile. “Uh, do you have one?” he quickly asks Gina.

“What are you talking about?” she asks innocently. “I’m already the best version of myself.”

All three of them laugh, as Big Red announces, “One minute!”

“Here’s to 2020!” Ricky shouts, raising his coffee mug into the air, and a few people _whoop_ in support.

“And to Ashlyn for another sweet party,” Nini calls, and everyone cheers.

“Five!” Big Red calls out, and everyone joins in.

“Four..! Three..! Two..! One – happy New Year!” they all shout. A couple of miles away, the sky lights up with bursts of colour. As the others celebrate, Carlos smiles, feeling for Seb’s little finger and twisting his own around it.

“Happy New Year, Seb.”


	4. Under the Radar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carlos and Seb decide that it's time to stop being quite so secretive about their relationship, and let people find out on their own.

“So, _Beauty and the Beast_ , huh?” Seb says, screwing up his face with exertion as he tries to stow a thick textbook into his crammed locker. “Does Miss Jenn know they did that two years ago?”

“I doubt she cares too much,” Carlos says drily. “Besides, I’m pretty sure Nini, EJ, Kaden, Rico and possibly Ashlyn were the only ones involved.”

Seb hums an affirmative and chuckles after a moment’s thought. “And it means you’re off the hook for telling us what the musical ideas were at Christmas.”

Carlos nods excitedly, leaning on the next locker over and smiling at him. “That means as long as everyone keeps their mouths shut, yeah, I should be in the clear. You want me to try that?”

“You’re lucky.” Seb steps back so Carlos can have a go at the textbook, turning it ninety degrees and sliding it in a different way. “Otherwise we’d look very suspicious, and Miss Jenn would literally kill you.”

“Literally?” Carlos echoes, as Seb shuts his locker and leans back against it.

“Honestly?” Seb says, the corner or his mouth twitching upwards. “Fifty-fity.” Carlos laughs and glances around the hallway, before sneaking a swift kiss against Seb’s lips. Seb blushes and looks both ways, trying to make sure nobody saw them. “ _Carlos!_ ”

“It’s fine,” Carlos insists, a playful smile creeping onto his face. “No one was looking,” he adds, lowering his voice a fraction. “Besides, haven’t you missed this?” he asks, and Seb tilts his head questioningly. “You know, sneaking around everyone? Taking risks? Almost getting caught?” Seb shrugs. “Because I have. We’ve been far too careful lately.”

“I guess that was the fun of not telling people in the first place,” Seb admits. He glances at the clock and frowns. “We’re gonna be late.”

“I’ll walk you to class?” Carlos suggests, and Seb laughs.

“Carlos, we’re in the _same_ class.”

“Even better.”

After briefly scanning the hallway, he reaches for Carlos’ hand and laces the tips of their fingers together. “Do you think people would be okay with this?” he wonders aloud, lifting their hands a half-inch.

“Hard to say,” says Carlos after considering it for a moment. “I mean, Salt Lake City isn’t exactly L.A., but… I don’t know. I’m certain the theatre guys would be okay with it,” he adds.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Seb says, unlinking their hands as they approach their classroom. The hallway’s more or less empty, and he’s about to go in when Carlos stops him, pulls him close and kisses him again. Seb sort of freezes for a second, before throwing caution to the wind and melting into Carlos’ touch.

“How about this?” Carlos says quietly, a mischievous smile creeping onto his face. “We don’t have to _tell_ people – but we could stop being so careful about being found out.” Seb considers this for a moment. “What do you think?”

“I’m in,” Seb says with a grin, kissing him once more before pulling away and tugging Carlos towards the classroom door.

Carlos wouldn’t say – by any means – that they’ve lost the spark that their relationship had when it first began. However, in the newly rediscovered excitement of not _quite_ allowing themselves to be caught, they find a new type of joy in being around each other and spending time together. Instead of being constantly on edge about being discovered, they allow themselves one final kiss­ before retreating to a distance that’s believably platonic.

When the group gets together for a games night, they sit marginally closer together. They find that their playful squabbles become more common around their friends: before, they were strictly private, and normally ended in a tickle fight before collapsing against each other, helpless with laughter. When Miss Jenn posts an announcement setting the date of the auditions for the spring show, Seb surreptitiously reaches for Carlos’ hand and squeezes it excitedly.

Despite their newfound recklessness, they don’t have any really close calls. That is, until Saturday night the week before the auditions, when the group throws a party for Nini and Big Red, whose birthdays are only a few days apart.

“You know arriving together is kind of… couple-y, right?” Seb says as they walk hand-in-hand up the path to Ashlyn’s front door.

“I’m aware,” Carlos says with a relaxed smile, and Seb nods, his smile a smidge too tight. “Hey,” Carlos says, stroking the back of Seb’s hand with his thumb. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m good,” Seb says a little breathlessly. “Just a little nervous.”

“That’s okay,” Carlos replies gently, thinking for a moment. “Hey, once people know we’re together, do you think we’ll start being able to do joint birthday gifts?” Seb laughs aloud, and Carlos grins, having achieved his aim.

“I doubt it,” he says with a rueful smile. “Nini and Ricky tried it at Christmas and no one was impressed, remember?”

“I guess so,” Carlos chuckles. He’s about to knock on the door when Seb leans in and presses their lips together, and Carlos feels his warm palm on his cheek.

“Love you,” Seb says softly, and Carlos can’t stop a smile from spreading onto his face. They only recently started saying this to each other, and he’s still not used to hearing the words from the boy he’s had a crush on since eighth grade.

“I love you too,” Carlos says, quiet but confident. Suddenly the door opens and Ashlyn appears, framed in the yellow light of her hallway and clutching a garbage bag. Suddenly they’re ten inches apart, and she raises an eyebrow at them.

“Hey, guys,” she says, clearly more than a little suspicious. “Were you planning on coming in?”

“Oh, we just got here,” Seb explains. “Carlos was about to knock.”

“Okay,” she says, biting her lip. “I’m just taking this out,” she adds, lifting the garbage bag. “Go on in and get some food, yeah?”

“Will do.”

“That was close,” Carlos mutters, and Seb laughs nervously.

“We’re getting careless.”

“Worth it,” Carlos grins, kissing him again.


	5. Under the Spotlights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally arrived - the day of auditions for 'Beauty and the Beast'.

“Auditions this afternoon,” Gina says cheerfully, pulling her lunch out of her backpack and smiling around at the group. “How are we feeling?” Looks of nervous anticipation pass around the table. Even Carlos feels nervous, and he’s not even doing an audition. He knows his acting isn’t top-notch, so when Miss Jenn asked him to choreograph again, he agreed without a moment’s hesitation.

“I don’t think we need to talk about that,” Ashlyn says hastily, as the silence prolongs.

The reason for the discomfort is obvious: there’s no getting around the fact that Nini, Gina and Kourtney (after a lot of persuasion from Nini and Miss Jenn) are all auditioning for Belle. If that wasn’t enough, Ricky, EJ, Kaden and Rico are all hoping to be cast as the Beast. As strong as the group’s friendships have become, there’s been a very palpable tension between them over the last week or so – even between Nini and Kourtney, who are normally attached by the hip.

Carlos, Seb, Ashlyn, Big Red and the others have wisely stayed out of it. Seb and Ashlyn are expecting to read for smaller parts, and Big Red and Carlos aren’t auditioning (although Carlos has a sneaky feeling that Miss Jenn is planning on assigning Big Red a role anyway).

“I’m feeling pretty good,” EJ says, stabbing his fork into a piece of his baked potato. “I mean, it’s my last show, so it’d be nice to get a lead, since it’s my last show, but it’s chill.” He shrugs casually, but Carlos doesn’t miss the subtle scowl that Ricky and Nini share, and he knows why.

It’s no secret that EJ has spent the last month trying to persuade Ricky not to audition for Beast, so that he can have the role, an act which has made it clear that he doesn’t think Rico or Kaden are much competition. Predictably, this hasn’t helped the group’s dynamic. Carlos catches Seb’s eye across the table and rolls his eyes, and Seb bites his lip to keep from smiling.

“Hey, Carlos?” EJ says again. Oh, no. He _so_ doesn’t want to be involved. “I’m just curious - do you and Miss Jenn go into auditions with ideas of who you want to play the roles?”

“I have no comment,” Carlos replies delicately, hurriedly packing the remainder of his lunch into his backpack. “And, uh, on that note, I, um, have to be – anywhere else.” He swings his backpack onto his shoulders, apologises to the freshman whose head he hit with his bag and hurries out of the cafeteria. He puffs out his cheeks and breathes a sigh of relief.

“Carlos, wait up!” He momentarily freezes, then recognises the voice and relaxes, turning around to see Seb bounding along to catch him up. “You okay?” he asks, his gentle smile betrayed by the concern in his eyes.

“I’m good,” he says with a nervous laugh. “Just a lot of pressure on me today.” Sub hums in acknowledgement and takes his hand.

“I trust you to make the right choices,” he says softly, and Carlos smiles gratefully.

Director’s desk – check. Two notepads – check. Two pens – check. Lamp – check. Ancient boom box for audition backing tracks – check. Carlos breathes and starts to relax. With the dance audition already done, the hardest part is over for him. Now for the agonising process of narrowing down choices for the characters themselves. They all do well (EJ in particular, to Carlos’ vague disappointment), but if he’s being honest, there’s only one audition Carlos _really_ cares about. Or, there would be, if he wasn’t being completely impartial for the casting process.

“Next!” Miss Jenn calls, and Seb marches onstage. From what Carlos can see, he’s the definition of confidence, but Carlos is sure he’s killing himself with nerves inside. He feels his eyes soften, and hopes Miss Jenn hasn’t noticed the change in his expression.

“I’m Seb Matthew-Smith, and I’ll be auditioning for Lumière.” He clears his throat, and nods at Carlos, who nods back as he presses the play button on the old boom box. A few bars of the brash introduction plays, and Seb’s voice rings out across the auditorium. “ _Ma chère madamoiselle!_ ” he announces, and Carlos breaks out into a smile. From behind them, the others chuckle appreciatively. His voice is loud and clear, and his French accent isn’t terrible. In Carlos’ opinion, he’s never been cuter. “It is with deepest pride and greatest pleasure that we welcome you tonight! We invite you to relax – pull up a chair, as the dining room proudly presents… your dinner.”

With a dramatic flourish, he launches into ‘Be Our Guest’, and even despite his bias, Carlos thinks he’s remarkable. He’s dynamic, and he’s clearly put thought into his performance. He keeps his legs mostly still and stiff (much like a candlestick, Carlos reflects), but his arm movements are expressive and his face is a total picture. He only has to sing the first verse, but as he finishes, the other students sat behind Carlos and Miss Jenn applaud. A few even let out a _whoop_. Clearly pleased, Seb puts his hands at his thighs and gives a little bow before exiting the stage.

“Thoughts?” Miss Jenn murmurs, her eyebrows lifted in impressed surprise.

“He’s beautiful,” Carlos sighs, resting his chin on one hand, and there’s a pause as they both realise what he’s said.

“What?” Miss Jenn says, looking curiously at him, and Carlos blushes.

“I, uh…” He stalls for a moment. “I mean, he played it beautifully, don’t you think?”

She hums an affirmative and scribbles something indistinct on her notebook.

“Okay people!” she calls to the room in general, when the final hopeful actor has walked off stage. “Thank you all for your efforts this afternoon,” she goes on. Across the room, Seb shoots Carlos a nervous smile. “Carlos and I will now take some time to consider who is right for each role, and the cast list will be posted within half an hour.”


	6. Over the Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the cast list goes up, the truth comes out. Multiple truths, in fact.

An apprehensive hush fills the hallway where the students are sitting, alone or in pairs. No one's really speaking, because they’ve exhausted all topics of conversation – how they thought their auditions went, whether or not they’ll get the parts they want, and how it’s sort of unfair that Miss Jenn posts the cast lists so quickly, as they essentially have to sit around and wait while she deliberates.

So far, it’s been twenty-four minutes. Not that anybody’s counting.

Nini mutters something in Ricky’s ear, and shuffles over to Seb, who’s huddled on the floor by himself, arms wrapped nervously around his knees.

“You okay?” she whispers, and Seb shrugs.

“I guess.” She nods sympathetically and offers him her pinkie to squeeze. “You were awesome, by the way.” Nini shoots him a deeply sceptical look.

“Seb, that was _easily_ my worst performance since my stint as a tree.” Seb laughs, and the sweet sound echoes around the silent hallway, making almost everyone smile. Ricky clears his throat.

“What team?”

“Wildcats!” Ashlyn replies loudly, and everyone laughs.

“What team!” Ricky repeats at twice the volume.

“Wildcats!” they chorus with just as much enthusiasm. A few people applaud, and EJ lets out a _whoop_. As the noise dies down, they hear a door bang.

“Here we go, people!” Seb and several others jump to their feet as Carlos marches towards them clutching a sheet of paper.

“Oh god,” Kourtney gasps, her hands flying to her mouth. The kids crowd around the paper, the shorter ones squeezing through to the front for a better view. Seb scans the sheet for his name, not paying too much attention to the rest, hoping beyond hope that he won’t be disappointed.

_Belle – Kourtney Wright_   
_Belle understudy – Gina Porter_   
_Beast – EJ Caswell_   
_Beast understudy – Rico Peñate_   
_Gaston – Ricky Bowen_   
_Le Fou – Kaden Marks_   
_Maurice – Oliver Larson_   
_Cogsworth – Clifford Mantle_   
_Lumière – Seb Matthew-Smith_   
_Mrs Potts – Ashlyn Caswell_   
_Chip – Nini Salazar-Roberts_   
_Madame Garderobe – Gina Porter_   
_Monsieur Cadenza – Rico Peñate_

Seb stops reading after the main characters, his gaze glued to his own name, reading the line over and over again, unable to believe his luck. _Lumière – Seb Matthew-Smith_. He chokes out a breath of nervous, incredulous laughter, then tears his eyes away from the paper and scans the hallway for Carlos. He spots him after a few seconds, and weaves through the throng of students, all engaged in either celebrations or gracious commiserations.

Carlos’ face breaks into a grin as Seb approaches, wrapping him in a tight hug. “Well done,” he whispers in his ear. “I’m so proud of you.” At these words, Seb seizes his moment, taking his boyfriend’s face in his hands and kissing him with everything he has. Carlos stiffens momentarily, but after a second, Seb feels him melting against his body.

They barely register that the hallway has once again fallen silent.

Seb presses his forehead against Carlos’ and hears him whisper, “I love you so much.”

“Do we all have to kiss the choreographer?” EJ’s voice is brash and amused, and the boys freeze simultaneously. Seb turns around to see literally every eye in the room looking at him and Carlos with interest.

“Uh,” he says, and just like that, he realises: this time, there is no possible way out.

“Only those who I’m dating,” Carlos says, filling the silence.

“Wait, _what?_ ” Kourtney turns so shrill that Big Red, standing next to her, winces. “You’re… together?”

“Surprise,” Seb says weakly, slipping a hand into Carlos’ and lifting them to make the point. A few people lose interest, but the core group swarm Seb and Carlos, pelting them with the bombardment of questions they always knew was coming.

“I’m going to stop you there,” Carlos says, cutting all of them off. “When – closing night of _High School Musical_. How – we kissed after opening night, then made it official at the cast party. That’s all you need to know,” he finishes, and Seb grins at how matter-of-fact he’s being.

“You kept it a secret from us for nearly _three months_?” Ashlyn says in disbelief, as Ricky passes Nini a ten-dollar bill, a defeated look on his face.

“We had some close calls,” Seb admits, divulging nothing further.

“Besides,” Carlos adds, a wicked glint entering his eyes. “Since we’re on the topic of secrets, did anyone notice anything strange about the cast list?”

“Yeah, I did,” Gina pipes up, glancing at it again and frowning. “There’s no one here called Clifford Mantle, yet he’s somehow been cast as Cogsworth.” Seb looks at Carlos, who obviously knows something, and follows his gaze to Big Red, whose face has turned crimson.

“No,” Seb says slowly, the penny dropping.

“I didn’t even audition,” he mumbles, as the others start to catch on, laughter rippling around the group. “How did you know?”

“It was in your file,” Carlos says, only mildly apologetically.

“Your real name is _Clifford?_ ” Nini says, between bursts of helpless laughter.

“Nini, I’ve known you since first grade,” he shoots back. “It’s actually concerning that you did not know this. Anyway,” he says quickly, “are we just going to forget that Carlos and Seb are dating?”

“Oh, never,” Ashlyn grins, squeezing his hand. “Who’s the better kisser?” she asks, and Seb automatically points to Carlos, only to glance over and see that Carlos is pointing at him. He nudges him with his shoulder and smiles, embarrassed.

“Who asked who out?” Nini chips in.

“Well, Carlos asked me to homecoming first.”

“But he asked me officially at the party,” Carlos adds.

“Who pays for your dates?” EJ asks curiously.

“And we’re done here,” Carlos says firmly, as Gina punches EJ lightly on the shoulder. Carlos clears his throat and turns to Seb, his voice a lot lower. “I have to go pack down the auditorium. Do you want to come and… help me?”

“Of course,” Seb smiles, slipping his hand into Carlos’ as they walk back towards the auditorium. “After all, it doesn’t matter if we’re caught now, does it?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed it! I love these sorts of fics but I've never written one before, so I'd be interested to hear your thoughts! Let me know in a comment, or else hit me up on Tumblr - my URL is @tea-for-one-please.
> 
> (This was also a sort of challenge to myself, to see if I could write 1000 words in an evening, when I've failed to write that much for an assignment in the last ten days. Turns out I can.)


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